#dnaEdit: Back to school

Delhi’s Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal’s promise to make “government schools so good that even the well-off will voluntarily send their children to these schools” though heartening, is easier said than done. Rarely does a leading politician, who has just won at the hustings, make promises for the development of the social sector. Rather the focus is on glamorous, big-ticket economic reforms that can rake in both publicity and financial investment, best exemplified by the Gujarat model, which other Chief Ministers are now rushing to replicate. However, the downside of Kejriwal’s promise is that unlike the Janlokpal Bill, wi-fi connectivity, or CCTV cameras, on which he can start on a clean slate, improving schools and hospitals involves rejuvenating an existing and crumbling system. Even in health care, a comparable sector, the government has only 39 hospitals under its control.

Reforming education is a more formidable task; there are 1,007 government schools with a total enrolment of nearly 7.4 lakh students. Far worse, are the conditions in 1,750 primary and pre-primary schools run by the three Delhi municipal corporations. In addition, there are around 1,800 recognised private schools and an estimated 2,500 unrecognised schools. 

The problems are the same everywhere: poor learning outcomes, teachers who come to schools only to record attendance, and inadequate upkeep of infrastructure. AAP leader Manish Sisodia raised eyebrows in the 49-day AAP government when he made a surprise visit to an MCD primary school. Finding teachers arriving late even though the students were on time, Sisodia suspended a principal and a teacher for being absent. In their new stint, AAP ministers, MLAs and volunteers must maintain a similar or higher level of vigilance. It is neglect from lawmakers that has ruined the public school system. The AAP has promised to construct 500 new schools and appoint 17,000 “competent” teachers to lower the teacher-student ratio. However, the old practice of appointing guest teachers to plug vacancies must end. The AAP appears to be in step with many of the problems plaguing government schools. The party has promised a transparent, centralised and online system for nursery admissions, a big headache for Delhiites. A similar system has also been envisaged to monitor private school fees and their accounts, class strength, vacancies and admissions to other classes.

Monitoring and publicly displaying such information is a fine idea, but the government should tread with care in imposing regulations on private schools, lest they result in endless litigation. Private schools, all over, see themselves as private enterprises, rather than functioning merely as a service provider, and abhor regulatory frameworks. Last November, the Delhi high court quashed nursery guidelines giving higher weightage to students living in the neighbourhood of schools noting that it violated the fundamental rights of private unaided schools. Such schools can be expected to fight any attempt to intrude into their functioning. However, forcing schools, especially those which received land at subsidised rates, to adhere to their Right to Education Act commitments for the  economically weaker students, is non-negotiable. Cleaning up the act on the government side must be first priority. Unless the government can show a turnaround in the administration of its own schools, it will be on a weak wicket demanding the same commitment from others. Many among the poor, especially migrants, face an uphill task getting their wards admitted to government schools. Ultimately, what government schools in Delhi need is a facelift. Unless schools can offer airy, clean, and well-maintained spaces, little will change. Granting financial autonomy to school principals, oversight mechanisms manned by neighbourhood residents, and fixing accountability on non-performing administrators could be the key to a quick recovery.